Star Martial Era: From Mortal to Emperor

Chapter 42: Qingyang Revisited, Seeking the Truth

Li Mo raised her head, wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, and looked at Lin Chen, a glimmer of hope flashing in her cloudy eyes. The light was faint, but it was like a candle flame flickering in the wind and rain, yet never going out.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice. Then, he bent down and fumbled around in the hidden compartment under the counter for a while. The compartment was extremely well hidden—on the innermost part of the bottom layer of the counter, there was an inconspicuous groove that required pressing down a wooden board with a finger to open it. Li Mo operated it skillfully, clearly having practiced it countless times.

He took out a package wrapped in three layers of oiled paper from the hidden compartment. The oiled paper was yellowed and the edges were somewhat torn, but the package was tied very tightly with several layers of hemp rope. Li Mo placed the package on the counter, carefully untied the hemp rope, and peeled back layer after layer of oiled paper.

"This was given to me by my senior brother back then." Li Mo's voice was hoarse and solemn. "Inside is a secret letter from Wang Xiaotian, detailing his deal with the leader of the evil race. It bears his signature and the blood-red mark of the evil race. It's irrefutable evidence of their collusion with the evil race. For the past thirty years, I've taken this letter out to look at it every now and then, to make sure it's still there, to make sure it hasn't gotten damp, and to make sure it's not a dream."

Lin Chen looked down. It was indeed a yellowed, cryptic letter; the paper was brittle, and the edges were slightly torn. He picked it up. It contained a few lines of text, essentially stating that the Wang family was willing to provide the evil race with the defense map of Qingyang City's martial arts line, in exchange for the evil race supporting the Wang family as the rulers of Qingyang City after the deed was done. The handwriting bore some resemblance to Wang Hao's, with strong, sharp strokes and a crimson evil mark stamped in the lower right corner—a black tiger's head and a blood-red evil mark. That evil mark exuded a faint, unsettling aura of decay; even thirty years later, the evil power it contained could still be felt.

"And another thing," Li Mo added, his tone becoming more serious, "Wang Xiaotian's son, Wang Hao—that little bastard who severed my meridians back then—is now keeping an eye on you at the provincial key school. The Wang family already knows that the Star Martial Inheritance has reappeared, and they want to seize your Star Martial Core. They've laid an ambush in the evil array in the Northwest Forest Area, just waiting to lure you in during the joint training. They'll first detonate the evil array to break the seal, and then take advantage of the chaos to seize your Star Martial Core. Once they succeed, the seal will completely collapse, and the main force of the evil race underground will see the light of day again."

Lin Chen nodded, his expression calm and composed. Chen Feng's third blood-written letter contained exactly what Li Mo had said. All the clues matched—from the first Martial Emperor setting up the seal a thousand years ago, to Chen Feng and Li Mo discovering the first Martial Emperor's notes thirty years ago, to Wang Xiaotian betraying humanity and colluding with the evil race, to Chen Feng's self-sacrifice and subsequent actions, and now his inheritance of the Star Martial Legacy. Every point in time, every event, was seamlessly connected, forming a perfect logical loop. This was no coincidence; it was the first Martial Emperor's foresight a thousand years ago, a chess game Chen Feng had laid out with his life thirty years ago.

"Thank you, Mr. Li. Thank you for your perseverance over the past thirty years." Lin Chen carefully put the secret letter and package into his pocket, placing them next to the three blood-written letters, and then bowed deeply to Li Mo. "I will return to Tianlan City now and hand over this evidence to Old Master Su and the Martial Arts Association. We will definitely make preparations in advance to thwart the Wang family's conspiracy."

Lin Chen chatted with Li Mo for a while longer, listening to the old man recount more about Chen Feng, the Wang family, and the martial arts world of Qingyang City. Li Mo spoke slowly, repeating some things several times—he hadn't spoken to anyone about these things for so many years, accumulating so much to say, like a well sealed for thirty years, once opened, it would flow uncontrollably. Lin Chen listened patiently, without urging or showing impatience. He knew that this was perhaps the moment Li Mo most wanted to say, the moment he most needed to say, in thirty years.

Outside the window, the autumn rain was still falling, pattering against the tin awning of the grocery store, making a series of soft, pattering sounds.

In the end, Lin Chen still got up to take his leave. He didn't go home, didn't visit his parents—not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. The evidence he carried was too important to afford the slightest mistake. He had to race against time to get back to Tianlan City and deliver this evidence, enough to bring down the Wang family, to a reliable person.

Li Mo escorted him to the alley entrance. In the rain, the old man's hunched figure appeared somewhat frail. His white hair was wet with rain and stuck to his forehead, but he leaned against the wall at the alley entrance, gazing in the direction Lin Chen had gone, and did not leave for a long time.

Lin Chen took a taxi directly to the high-speed rail station. The taxi's windshield wipers rhythmically swept away the rainwater from the windshield. Qingyang City outside the window rushed past in the rain, those familiar street scenes flashing by. Lin Chen leaned back in his seat, his palm pressed against the evidence in his arms through his clothes, feeling its slight thickness and warmth.

He had to hand over this evidence to Old Master Su and Director Jiang Chen as soon as possible, deploy troops in advance, and completely eliminate the Wang family's ambush in the Northwest forest area before the joint training exercise. He couldn't afford to make a single mistake, nor could he wait a single moment.

Just as he boarded the high-speed train and the carriage announcement said "departure is imminent," his phone suddenly rang.

The phone screen displayed the words "Zhao Lei".

Lin Chen pressed the answer button. On the other end of the line, Zhao Lei's voice was filled with obvious pain and anger, as if he were speaking through gritted teeth, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth: "Lin Chen! Something terrible has happened! I've been beaten up! They stole the Qi Gathering Pills I just bought, and they even said... they also said you should stay away from the Wang family, or they'll break your legs next time!"

Zhao Lei's breathing was rapid and erratic, occasionally punctuated by gasps of cold air—clearly caused by the pain in his wound. There was a cacophony of voices in the background, as if a crowd was watching.

Lin Chen's hand tightened suddenly around his phone, his knuckles cracking softly. A cold rage instantly ignited in his eyes, a rage that wasn't boiling, but frozen—more terrifying and dangerous than boiling anger.

Wang family.

How dare they touch his brother!

"Where are you? I'm coming right away!" Lin Chen's voice wasn't loud, but every word carried an undeniable decisiveness. Without even thinking, he stood up, picked up his backpack, ignored the surprised looks from the other passengers in the carriage, and walked towards the door.

"I'm in the alley near the school gate! It's the one to the left of the school gate! There are three of them, all at the mid-stage of the Qi and Blood Realm! The one leading them is Wang Hao's bodyguard, Black Tiger! Lin Chen, don't come alone, they're waiting for you!" Zhao Lei's voice was filled with worry. Even though he was injured, he was still worried about Lin Chen's safety.

"Wait for me!" Lin Chen hung up the phone, his eyes burning with rage. That rage contained heartache for his injured brother, fury at the Wang family's shameless actions, and a bottom line that every martial artist must uphold—brothers cannot be bullied!

The seal erected with the life of the first Martial Emperor, the legacy protected by Chen Feng with his life, the hope Li Mo waited thirty years for—you want to destroy it? You dare touch my brother, Lin Chen's brother!

This time, I will not only cripple your legs, but also make your entire Wang family disappear from this world completely!

The high-speed train doors opened in front of him, and the wind on the platform, carrying the chill of the rain, rushed towards him. Lin Chen strode out, raindrops hitting his face; he hadn't used an umbrella.

In his palm, silver star power was silently gathering, like a bullet about to be fired.